Last week, we delved into the third group of 20 artists that we posted about in our blog series; and we also briefly touched upon these artists, just to see what they’re up to. Now… it’s time to see the next group of 20 artists- artists for our blogs 61-80. Do you want to know what’s happening in the lives of Jackie Evancho, Missy Higgins, Carly Rae Jepsen or Little Big Town? Read on to find out more!
Hey everyone… guess what! It’s April 2022, and slowly coming up to Easter. And I’ve just found out that we haven’t uploaded our top 40 albums of 2021 yet! Shame on us! Anyway… it’s time to rectify this issue right away! So without further ado, let me present to you all our favourite 40 albums as a site for the entire of 2021! Impacting and inspiring songs are special, but whole album near-masterpieces? They’re even more special! So sit back, be inspired, and let these full length projects minister to you during this time of uncertainty!
Continue reading BEST OF 2021- PART 4: TOP 40 ALBUMS OF 2021
Hey everyone… guess what! It’s the beginning of 2022… already! The past year of 2021 has been such an eventful and crazy year in and of itself! The Squid Game, Ted Lasso, Mare Of Easttown, Dopesick, Only Murders In The Building, Loki and Wandavision are the shows that have won all of the awards and critical acclaim; while Spiderman: No Way Home, King Richard, Don’t Look Up, Encanto, CODA, Power Of The Dog, James Bond: No Time To Die and Dune (amongst others) are the films that have wowed us all in any and every way possible. The world is still reeling becomes of the Omicron variant of Covid-19; and through all that, we’ve realised that it’s time for another Best of post. Over the year of 2021, there have been many songs that have touched our soul and have brought us healing and comfort. So let us dive back in through the past year- as we now let you all know our favourite songs of 2021. All 50 of them! So sit back, be inspired, and let these songs minister to you during this time of uncertainty! Let us remember that even though this upcoming year is uncertain, that music is constant, and that these songs can comfort, inspire and encourage as we navigate through life.
Independent
Release Date: October 1st 2021
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Jon Foreman – Roll Tape: Live From Melody League Studios (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Continue reading Jon Foreman – Roll Tape: Live From Melody League Studios
Independent
Release Date: February 12th 2021
Reviewed by: Jonathan Andre
Jon Foreman – Departures (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
It’s been about a couple of years since blog #2 in this Top 100 Influential Artists blog series that I embarked upon. Why I signify blog #2 is of a fair amount of importance, let me remind you. It was the blog about Switchfoot, and was in fact, a blog where I highlighted many songs by this San Diego quintet that have shaped music history and the lives of people over the years- songs like ‘Meant to Live’, ‘Dare You To Move’, ‘Stars’, ‘Oh Gravity’, ‘Mess of Me’, ‘Love Alone is Worth the Fight’ and ‘Restless’ are just many, many songs by a band that have had an influence in both the Christian music industry, and the mainstream as well. It was the first blog post after the first, which was Michael W. Smith, an artist that will always be sentimental to me, because it was the artist that in fact started off this whole journey of thinking about music and the impact, influence and power of artists, songs, and their discography on not only people’s lives, but throughout history as well. And here I am 2 years later or so, ready to commence on blog #74. And what better way to speak and discuss about something and someone totally from left field, that it is, to introduce the topic of discussion in this post…Jon Foreman, lead singer of Switchfoot (see blog post #2).
I know I say this every year, but let me say it again this time. The year of 2020, while hectic and chaotic for all of us for obvious reasons, has also delivered to us some pretty inspiring and thought-provoking albums and songs. Is that to say that previous years haven’t been that great? No, not by any means! This past year has been probably the year in which I have grown the most in my musical tastes, and it’s the year that I have found more albums and songs that have resonated with me, but maybe that’s because I was more aware of releases this year than any other year. Partly because of me branching out into different types of music because of my own accord due to me being more at home due to COVID-19, and also partly because of me and Jon writing our blog series about influential artists of all time– and us being exposed to more different types of music that way.
Continue reading BEST OF 2020- PART 6: TOP 25 ANTICIPATED ALBUMS OF 2021
Independent
Release Date: June 12th 2020
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Colony House– When the Walls Come Crashing Down (feat. Jon Foreman & Jillian Edwards) – Single (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
If you were to ask me to name one band that has successfully shaped their craft and pioneered a movement where music was able to transcend both mainstream markets and CCM circles, I’d have to say Switchfoot. Maybe some people have heard of this 5 piece band from San Diego, California, maybe some people haven’t. Regardless, Jon Foreman (lead singer) and co. have gifted us with mountains upon mountains of songs that have had (and continue to have) the ability to speak to our souls, to challenge our very being when other conversations and introspective discussions have failed to do so. Switchfoot’s music, for me, is a reminder of the power that a song can have in a certain moment, and that creating a song almost gives you licence to speak about almost every topic that can be judged as being ‘taboo’ in a sense. Faith can be discussed. Doubt, uncertainty, love, loneliness, worry, hope, joy, and everything else in between; expect all these facets and themes of life to be present in songs, especially Switchfoot’s! Brothers Jon and Tim (bass guitar), and other band members Drew Shirley (guitars), Jerome Fontamillas (guitars and keyboards) and Chad Butler (drums) have unveiled a band that is honest and sincere, positive yet also confronting and challenging, all the while presenting to us songs that minister to our soul, even if we don’t really know it at that point in time!
Continue reading MOMENTOUS MONDAYS: Influential Artists of All Time – Week 2: Switchfoot
I reckon this year, the year of 2017, is the year where I have branched out the most in terms of listening to mainstream music. Just like how I think 10 years ago in 2007 was the year where I branched out in listening to Christian music (as prior to that I only listened to Carman and Delirious?…yep, call me old fashioned, or sheltered, or both!), this is the year where I have sat up, and taken notice of many of today’s current pop songs. Not that I wasn’t that much in the know before (I knew several mainstream artists, like One Republic, Katy Perry, Selena Gomez, Taylor Swift, One Direction, Justin Bieber, Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, and others, but I wasn’t following them religiously- I didn’t go out of my way to purchase an album of theirs!), but it was this year where my eyes and ears were opened to the realities of the type of music people listen to these days. Partly from exposure to Cimorelli’s covers (of which you can check out on iTunes here!)- and then from there I wanted to see how the original sounded- and also partly because some of the neighbouring stores surrounding our café played pop music very loudly every single day; but whatever the case, I was exposed to more and more mainstream music each and every day this year, with some songs being inspiring, and others on the other end of the spectrum and quite disturbing.